The present invention relates to a three-dimensional (3D) printer, and more particularly, a 3D printer capable of being collapsed into a compact portable state for ready travel and/or storage.
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a form of additive manufacturing in which 3D objects may be printed or produced by building up successive layers of material which are either fused, adhered, or hardened together. Typical 3D printers are constructed of a structure having rigid beams or rods that extend the entire height, length, and width (x, y, and z axis) of the printable area. A tool head travels up, down, side-to-side, front-to-back, and/or back-to-front along the rods or, alternatively, the build platform or printing surface may be able to travel up or down vertical rods or beams. These configurations allow the object to be built layer-by-layer moving the tool head along the vertical and horizontal axis.
For purposes of example, a relatively-large 3D printer may provide a printable area of one cubic meter (i.e., 1,000 mm by 1,000 mm by 1,000 mm). Such a relatively large 3D printer has limited mobility due to its large size and weight and is typically difficult to transport from one site to another.